Monday, October 26, 2015

The Snickers and other chocolate bars are ready for the big night, and the crows are still in a party mood and ready as well. I remember one year trying to chose some kind of healthier snack for trick or treat, and the kids look at me like I was from another planet. Probably boxed raisins or something like that. Not what the little monsters wanted on Halloween that was for sure. Of course I have really fond memories of the candy we used to haul home when we were kids. I seldom had candy at home during the rest of the year, so it was tough not to be selfish and hide your own stash from other siblings. Today, maybe one little snickers, and that will take care of it for me. But I can't keep them in the house or one might not settle the craving.

I use this nice size urn all year long. For now it supports 3 pumpkins in a topiary style. Since I have so little color in any of the decorations, I chose to use a more traditional color pumpkin for the center. The table will remain much the same for the rest of Fall except for the obvious Halloween decor. I wanted a little touch of traditional fall color and the pumpkin does that very well, and will be perfect for a Fall looking arrangement.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Even those who love mostly soft and neutral decorating, sometimes crave a bit of contrast or a splash of color. Especially this time of year. You can add a touch of elegance to your Halloween decor by simply playing with the time tested combination of black and white. Add some warm tones of gold and the sparkle of silver and you have a more grown up version of Halloween decorating..

The mantel this year is dressed in black and white again. Whatever your own favorite colors, you can certainly decorate even for Fall and Halloween with the the colors you love. Even if that happens to be without the strong orange or red of the season. You might enjoy the stunning display of the turning of the leaves outside but still like a more neutral look inside. Give it some contrast like black and white, or keep it monochromatic. It can still be very festive and fun!

I'm fortunate to have a few pretty black and white artworks to display this time of year. On the mantel this time is a print of my own art, The Wizard. It was done many years ago, and although I consider it to be simply fantasy art, it makes a great addition for Halloween when everyone thinks of magic.

The MacKenzie-Childs star ornament is nice for Halloween, even though I
usually bring it out for Christmas and New Year's decorating. It adds
another element of black and
white and silver, and repeats the the harlequin design as well.

The crows are merry and in a party mood with little witchy hats and
decorative collars. This one is sitting on top of a faux (foam) pumpkin painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint. The mercury glass pumpkin and gourd sparkle and
reflect light, with one perched atop a cute harlequin patterned urn. A few spiders complete the whimsical feeling. They are only invited inside this time of year, and only if they aren't real!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Yes, the days are cooler almost everywhere here in the states, even way, way down south. We even saw the high 60's in the morning. Which means time for pumpkins and a quick ride on your favorite broom, right? Soup is cooking, boxes of decorations are in need of being purged and put away. This is my favorite kind of decorating ... nothing new! Oh, I did drag that branch in from outside, but that was free. Hope you enjoy a quick peek of a little Halloween fun.

Friday, October 2, 2015

It's October! A month that seems very special to a lot of people just because it means Fall is here for sure. The temperatures for us are actually going to be only in the 80's. Big Chill! I don't get in a big hurry for the really cold days, but the crisp Fall nights are a treat.

So speaking of treats, it will soon be the big Trick or Treat day. You know how I love decorating for Halloween. It's time to find out what the crows and ravens did with their hats and collars, round up all the pumpkins and see which of the little witches and bunny goblins art prints will be a part of decorating this year. I think all the Halloween Art Prints are in the shop now.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

By the date on the calendar, it will be Fall soon enough. But here it is still in the nineties and only a few flowers make it through so many days of this heat. Even the zinnias are coming to the end of the their summer season. Each year I love zinnias more and more.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

How to create this beautiful patina for French Drawer Pulls or any other thing you might want to paint!

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The "secret" is how darn easy this is! I certainly hope it didn't sound like the painting of the drawer pulls was some difficult or complicated secret. It certainly isn't. It's quite simple. Like most "secrets" this one is pretty easy to figure out, and you probably already have! Don't worry about changing it to suit your needs, go right ahead, it is very adaptable. Over the years, this has been one of the most asked questions, how to create this look. So here are the directions!

Friday, August 7, 2015

It's funny how you really never know how some little gift you give will
be something the person will treasure for a long time. Nor do we ever know how
quick something that was more costly to purchase ends up at the GoodWill or a charity like it.
But it's the thought behind the gift that counts, right? After that you
just have to let it go even if you worked hard or spent generously, if it just wasn't something the receiver wanted, you did give from your heart.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

As you check out blogs and see some fabulous makeovers using chalk paint you could be thinking that you might give this ol' chalk paint stuff a whirl. Then you see the price, especially if you have to pay shipping! It's expensive enough if you can find a local source, but by the time you add shipping it is really expensive. I've been using it for a few years now, and my thoughts on it haven't changed.

** Please note if you are not familiar with these paints, it is NOT "chalkboard" paint that you buy at the craft store. Although they now sell a folkart version of chalk paint which you might like to try if you use a 40% off coupon. But it is not the same "recipe" for chalk paint as the ASCP.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

There's a lot more to these chalk paints then just painting a quick coat of paint and doing a little sanding! Sometime ago I read Annie Sloan discussing working with her chalk paints and waxes to get different looks. So this was an experiment to see how to make a beautiful more aged look. The finished look is really worth the work. (Click on Continue Reading Link Below for more Information.)

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Oh no! I am longing for a nice, not too rustic, distressed chair. Oh well,
sometimes we just have a need for a little change. And since it is only paint, we can
certainlyrepaint a chair ... once or twice or maybe 20 times!

Not this chair, but maybe a couple others are about to get a simple, new look.

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Looking for a really rustic, distressed French Blue look? Try this method.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

It's a great time of the year to bring in a little touch of the garden. After cold weather or too much rain (or too little) in some parts of the country, wouldn't a little touch of living green add some warmth?!

Thursday, April 23, 2015

So why are we using the shipping label?Good question, and if I don't answer that first this could be confusing! You can't print on fabric from you printer because the fabric is so flimsy. It will jam in the printer for sure.So you are using the label to make it possible to get the fabric through the printer.

All backing and paper will be removedafter you are done printing andyou will have lovely piece of artprinted on fabric!! ____________________________________________

Forget the spay glue adhesive and freezer paper. This is much better.

It is very easy to do and requires no messy chemicals to transfer your image to fabric.

This tutorial will show you how to use your inkjet printer at home.(I have read that others used their laser printers for fabric,but I have not tried it, so I cannot say how it works from myown experience.)

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Peat pots can be found in the garden section of the big box stores, nurseries and even ol' Big Lots and Target. They can be dressed up or left more rustic, whichever way appeals to you. My choice was to

Click on "Continue Reading" Link Below for a List of Supplies and more ....

Sunday, March 1, 2015

The skies are gray today, and it seems a tougher sell to get me going with some streamlining of possessions and things around here. I go through spurts of being very determined, then a holiday, or some project and/or repair comes along, and things creep back into the unacceptable state of too much crap!

In the midst of more soul searching - decluttering, I see so many items that have been handpainted over the span of a lot of years, such as the 1920's-1930's armoire in the bedroom. If I touch it, it is still a happy possession; brings back the fun memory of Sweet Hubby going to a PBS auction and us picking it out. Too few people showed up for the auction, so we were able to just purchase the items we wanted. Money was tight so we left with only the one piece, at the time I wished I had stretched the budget for more. Now I have no idea where another large furniture piece would go anyway! But the one I have will stay for years to come since it is functional and feels quite happy as well.

The simple armoire was natural wood on the inside but painted off white on the outside. So it was easy to lightly repaint it. But it was very plain, which might be more to my liking today. Back then I figured it needed some embellishments and I actually still like them very much today.

The elements I added were made of resin, I painted them the same background color as the off-white armoire. Then I began to "antique" them so that they looked old and worn, but not too much, no chipping and flaking. I wanted just a nice patina of age and dusty feeling of years gone by. I used raw umber and taupe glazes letting them settle into the crevices then wiping most of it off the higher, raised area. When those glazes dried very well, I dry brushed over the highest areas with white to accent it.
The pieces were then adhered to the armoire using liquid nails and tiny nails hammered through small drilled holes.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

This is a very old solution that still works in today's kitchens as well.

When choosing storage options for the kitchen, baskets are always tops on the list for many people. And for good reason, they not only add a nice hidden storage solution, but they can also bring in a touch of warmth, color and/or texture. Somewhere along the line, I had a "collection" of sorts of these very inexpensive baskets. There were mostly out of sight, but they were also exactly the right size for a shelf area where we needed quick access to things like keys and they are in easy sight so something needed to be done to them, just to pretty them up a bit.

So out came the ASCP again! I've had the French Linen Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for a while, but never found the right place to use it for any accessories or furniture. However, when I tried it with the new colors in the kitchen, it was a perfect complement.

You can see from the before and after that a little bit of paint makes a big difference.

Adopt ~ Rescue ~ Save a LifeCody Bear adopted us Dec 2008And he is still The Puppy ♥

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